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Heavy metallic elements influence AMD progression

Researchers report associations between age-related macular degeneration and five heavy metallic elements, in findings that highlight the detrimental effects of pollution but the possible benefits of essential elements supplementation.

20 May 2015

AMD severity and progression tracks across eyes

Age-related macular degeneration in one eye tracks the severity of it in the fellow eye at all stages of the disease, findings from the Beaver Dam Eye study show.

20 May 2015

Specific bacterial community in female genital tract induces inflammation, increases HIV risk

A team led by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital and the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard has found that the most common bacterial community in the genital tract among healthy South Africa women not only is significantly different from that of women in developed countries but also leads to elevated levels of inflammatory proteins.

20 May 2015

HIV infections continue to rise among YMSM despite prevention efforts

HIV infections continue to rise in a new generation of young, gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (YMSM) despite three decades of HIV prevention as well as recent availability of biomedical technologies to prevent infection.

20 May 2015

Monash University researcher helps identify right type of Ebola vaccine trial

An Australian researcher has helped identify the kind of human trial that is most effective for testing Ebola vaccines.

20 May 2015

MSR, PATH announce launch of new water treatment product

Local outdoor gear manufacturer MSR (Mountain Safety Research) and Seattle-based international nonprofit organization and global health innovation leader PATH today announced the launch of a new water treatment product, the result of a five-year partnership to bring low-cost community water solutions to the global market.

20 May 2015

Diabetes screening will overwhelm India’s health system, study predicts

The new study, which used mathematical models to simulate the outcome of screening the whole population, estimates that between 158 million and 306 million people would be referred for confirmatory testing, but only 26-37 million of those would meet the diagnostic criteria for diabetes...

20 May 2015

Chancellor Angela Merkel calls for new plan to tackle Ebola outbreak at 68th World Health Assembly

Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany addressed delegates on the first morning of the Sixty-eighth World Health Assembly. "The WHO is the only international organization that has universal political legitimacy on global health issues,” she said.

20 May 2015

Study: Air pollution, impaired lung function independently affect cognition

Studies have shown that both air pollution and impaired lung function can cause cognitive deficits, but it was unclear whether air pollution diminishes cognition by reducing breathing ability first or whether air pollution represents an independent risk factor for cognitive deficit.

19 May 2015

New research project aims at preventing HIV, other blood-borne infections

Research consistently shows that policing practices, such as confiscating or breaking needles, are key factors in the HIV epidemic among persons who inject drugs. Police officers themselves are also at risk of acquiring HIV or viral hepatitis if they experience needle-stick injuries on the job — a significant source of anxiety and staff turn-over.

19 May 2015

Type 2 diabetes screening followed by treatment could reduce risk of cardiovascular disease, death

Screening to identify Type 2 diabetes followed by early treatment could result in substantial health benefits, according to new research published today in Diabetes Care that combined large scale clinical observations and innovative computer modelling.

19 May 2015

Pre-pregnancy maternal weight has significant impact on baby's immune system

Almost 60 percent of women of childbearing age in the United States are overweight or obese. Obesity is a major public health issue, and has been linked to health problems like heart disease, cancer and hypertension. It can complicate pregnancy by increasing the mother's risk of having gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, preterm birth or a baby with birth defects. Maternal obesity is also linked to several adverse health outcomes for the infant that can persist into adulthood, such as type-2 diabetes, heart disease and mortality.

19 May 2015

UTHealth receives supplemental grant to establish Biosafety and Infectious Disease Training Initiative

Researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health have received a $100,000 supplemental grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to establish a Biosafety and Infectious Disease Training Initiative.

19 May 2015

Exposure to extreme heat could increase six-fold in the U.S. by mid-century

U.S. residents' exposure to extreme heat could increase four- to six-fold by mid-century, due to both a warming climate and a population that's growing especially fast in the hottest regions of the country, according to new research.

19 May 2015

Machine learning can predict emerging infectious diseases

Machine learning can pinpoint rodent species that harbor diseases and geographic hotspots vulnerable to new parasites and pathogens. So reports a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences led by Barbara A. Han, a disease ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies.

19 May 2015

Adolescents with sleep issues more likely to use alcohol, marijuana

Adolescents who sleep less or stay up later are significantly more likely to have used alcohol and marijuana over the past month when compared to their peers who report better sleep patterns, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

19 May 2015

New tools may help colleges prevent excessive drinking

Social media messaging, screening and interventions offer new tools to help colleges prevent and reduce excessive drinking, according to a report authored by a Boston University School of Public Health researcher, working with a group of experts.

19 May 2015

Men with a history of asthma less likely to have aggressive prostate cancer

In what they are calling a surprising finding in a large study of men who completed questionnaires and allowed scientists to review their medical records, Johns Hopkins researchers report that men with a history of asthma were less likely than those without it to develop lethal prostate cancer.

19 May 2015

Alnylam files clinical trial application for alpha-1 liver disease, presents data at DDW

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that it has filed a Clinical Trial Application (CTA) with the U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to initiate a Phase 1/2 clinical trial with ALN-AAT, a subcutaneously administered investigational RNAi therapeutic targeting alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) for the treatment of AAT deficiency-associated liver disease (alpha-1 liver disease).

19 May 2015

Monash University-led researchers call for HCV patients to gain improved access to effective drugs

In a letter to the Medical Journal of Australia published today, a Monash University-led team is asking for hepatitis C virus patients to gain improved access to drugs to prevent liver related deaths.

19 May 2015